EP0073650B1

EP0073650B1 - Fluidized bed heat exchanger

Info

Publication number: EP0073650B1
Application number: EP82304488A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Robert D. Stewart; Robert L. Gamble
Original assignee: Foster Wheeler Energy Corp
Current assignee: Foster Wheeler Energy Corp
Priority date: 1981-08-25
Filing date: 1982-08-25
Publication date: 1986-07-16
Also published as: IE821899L; CA1181994A; JPS6223237B2; US4404755A; ATE20769T1; EP0073650A1; JPS5840491A; IE53074B1

Abstract

A fluidized bed heat exchanger in which a perforated plate is disposed within a housing for supporting a bed of particulate material. Air is passed through the plate to fluidize the particulate material and a mixture of air and additional particulate material is introduced to said bed and deflected into said bed in a manner to induce diffusion and circulation of the bed materials in the bed.

Description

This invention relates to a fluidized bed heat exchanger and, more particularly, to an heat exchanger in which heat is generated by the combustion of particulate fuel in a fluidized bed.
The use of fluidized beds has long been recognized as an attractive way of generating heat. In a normal fluidized bed arrangement, air is passed through a perforated plate, or grid, which supports a bed of particulate material, usually including a mixture of fuel material, such as high sulphur bituaminous coal, and an adsorbent material for the sulphur released as a result of the combustion of the coal. As a result of the air passing through the bed, the bed behaves like a boiling liquid which promotes the combustion of the fuel. The basic advantages of such an arrangement include relatively high heat transfer rates, substantially uniform bed temperatures, combustion at relatively low temperatures, ease of handling the coal, a reduction in corrosion and boiler fouling and a reduction in boiler size.
In the fluidized bed combustion process, the coal and adsorbent are continuously introduced into the bed by suitable feeders, injectors, or the like and the spent coal and adsorbent are discharged from the lower portion of the bed, usually through a gravity drain pipe extending through a wall of the heat exchanger or through a discharge opening formed through the perforated support plate. However, in these type of arrangements, there in only a minimal number of feeders of injectors, which are usually mounted through the heat exchanger walls, which results in poor distribution and mixing of the particulate material in the bed and therefore a reduced reaction efficiency. This probæm is specially acute in connection with the use of particulate coal of high reactivity, such as lignite, and/or relatively fine size particles (smaller than 1/8 inch) (3,175 mm), both of which require good mixing and distribution for maximum efficiency.
Reference is directed to GB-A-1 601 067 which discloses a fluidized bed combustor in which a mixture of air and entrained solids is fed upwardly into the bed. The delivery and distribution of the solids in the bed are preferably controlled by the nature of the discharge of the mixture into the bed, and baffles in the bed above the exitsJrom the. ducts through which the mixture is delivered.
The present invention seeks to improve the mixing and distribution of material in fluidized bed heat exchangers as described above by adapting the feeding means for additional particulate material to deliver a mixture of air and said material at a region within the bed in a manner to induce diffusion and circulation of bed material therein. Such delivery is preferably accomplished utilizing a source of air that is separate from the air used to fluidize the bed. According to the invention, the feeding means comprises at least one feeder pipe having a substantial vertical portion which extends into the bed from a point above the bed and is adapted to deliver a mixture of air and particulate material at a region within a said bed. At least one deflector traverses the path of incoming material from the feeder pipe or pipes, and an auxiliary source of air is coupled to the or each deflector to discharge such auxiliary air substantially horizontally within the bed. The deflector is thus adapted to direct the mixture of air and particulate material in at least one direction having a horizontal component to induce diffusion and circulation of bed material.
The use of deflectors as described herein serves to direct and entrain incoming and existing bed material in directions within the bed having an horizontal component. This, in combination with the fluidizing air passing upwards through the plate generates circulatory movement in the bed, and serves to improve the distribution and mixing of the material.
The invention will now be described by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of an embodiment of the fluidized bed heat exchanger of the present invention; and
Figure 2 is a reduced cross-sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1 with the bed material omitted in the interest of clarity.

In the drawings, reference numeral 10 refers in general to an enclosure forming a major portion of a fluidized bed heat exchanger which may be in the form of a boiler, a combustor, a process reactor or any similar type device. The enclosure 10 consists of a front wall 12, a rear wall 14, and two sidewalls 16 and 17 respectively. Each wall is formed by a plurality ofverticatty-extending tubes 18 disposed in a spaced, parallel relationship and connected together by a plurality of elongated fins 20 extending for the entire lengths of the tubes and connected to diametrically opposed surfaces of the tubes in a conventional manner. The upper portion of the enclosure 10 is not shown for the convenience of presentation, it being understood that it consists of a convection section, a roof and an outlet for allowing the combustion gases to discharge, also in a conventional manner.
A bed of particulate material, shown in general by the reference numeral 22 is disposed within the enclosure 10 and rests on a perforated plate 24 extending horizontally in the lower portion of the enclosure. The bed 22 can consist of a mixture of discrete particles of fuel material such as bituminous coal, and an adsorbent, such as limestone, for adsorbing the sulphur released by the combustion of the fuel material.
An air plenum 26 is provided immediately below the plate 24 and an inlet 28 is provided through the plenum for distributing pressurized air from an external source (not shown) to the plenum under the control of a damper 30.
A drain pipe 34 extends through the wall 14 and has an inlet end portion 34a that registers with the interior of the enclosure 10 in communication with the lower portion of the bed 22. The pipe 34 is thus adapted to receive the spent bed material as it migrates downwardly in the bed and functions to discharge the material from the enclosure 10 by gravity to a screw cooler, conveyor belt, or the like (not shown).
A plurality of air distributors, or nozzles, 36 communicate with the perforations of the plate 24 and each is in the form of a vertically disposed tubular member that is secured to the plate in any conventional manner, such as by bolting or welding. The nozzles 36 extend upwardly from the plate 24 for a predetermined distance into the bed 22 and their lower ends receive air from the plenum 26. As a result of the foregoing, the air from the plenum 26 passes through the nozzles 36 and discharges from the bed 22. Since the air ultimately rises by convection in the enclosure 10 and discharges, along with the gaseous products of combustion, from an outlet (not shown) in the upper portion of the enclosure, the bed material extending above the horizontal nozzle portions is fluidized. Also, a dormant layer of particulate material is formed around the vertical portions of the nozzles 36 which acts to insulate the plate 24 from the heat generated in the heat exchanger extending above the nozzles 36.
A pair of pipes 40 and 42 are provided for introducing particulate material into the bed 22. The pipes 40 and 42 extend from an area outside the enclosure adjacent the upper portion of the rear wall 14, through the latter wall at a slight angle to the horizontal and then vertically through the bed 22 where they terminate above the plane of the discharge ends of the nozzles 36. The end portions of the pipes 40 and 42 located externally of the enclosure 10 are adapted to receive pressurized air from an external source (not shown) and a pair of feed pipes 44 and 46 are provided which register with the pipes 40 and 42, respectively, and are adapted to introduce particulate material into the latter pipes under control of valves 48 and 49, respectively, disposed in the pipes 44 and 46.
The particulate material introduced into each pipe 40 and 42 from the feed pipes 44 and 46, respectively, may be crushed coal or a mixture of crushed coal and an adsorbent such as limestone, for the sulphur generated as a result of the combustion of the coal. Alternatively, crushed coal from the feed pipe 44 could be introduced into the pipe 40 and the adsorbent could be introduced from the feed pipe 46 into the pipe 42.
The ratio of the particulate material to the air in each pipe 40 and 42 is regulated so that the particulate material is suspended in the air as it passes through the latter pipes before being discharged into the bed 22 slightly above the nozzles 36.
A pair of generally convex deflectors 50 and 52 are mounted to the plate 24 in any conventional manner and are located directly below the discharge ends of the pipes 40 and 42, respectively, in the path of the mixture of particulate materials and air as it discharges from the latter pipes. The deflectors 50 and 52 are shaped in the manner shown to deflect the mixture in the direction shown by the flow arrows in Figure 1 which promotes diffusion and circulation of the particulate material in the bed.
A pair of auxiliary air pipes 54 and 56 extend through the plenum 26 and register with enlarged openings formed in the plate 24 below the deflectors 50 and 52 respectively. The pipes 54 and 56 are connected to a source of air (not shown) and have dampers 58 and 60 respectively disposed therein for controlling the flow of the air through the pipes. As shown in Figure 1, a plurality of openings are formed through the deflectors which extend in a substantially horizontal direction to allow the air from the pipes 54 and 56 to discharge into the bed 22.
As a result of the discharge of the mixture of particulate material and air, as well as the auxiliary air into the bed in the foregoing manner, a momentum is imparted to the bed material which induces a diffusion and circulation of the material in the bed and thus ensures superior distribution and mixing of the particulate material.
A bed light-off burner 62 is provided through the front wall 12 immediately above the plate 24 for initially lighting of the bed during startup in a conventional manner, and a pair of horizontal headers 64 are connected in fluid communication with the tubes 18 forming the front wall 12 and the rear wall 14, respectively, and another pair of horizontal headers 66 are connected in fluid communication with the tubes 18 forming the sidewall 16. It is understood that headers similar to the headers 64 and 66 are provided in communication with both ends of the sidewall 17 and the upper ends of the walls 12, 14 and 16. As a result, a fluid to be heated can be sequentially or simultaneously passed through the walls 12,14,16 and 17 to pick up the heat from the fluidized bed in a conventional manner.
In operation, the damper 30 associated with the air plenum 26 is opened and pressurized air passes up through the plenum and into the inlet ends of the nozzles 36. The air flows upwardly through the nozzles 36 before discharging into the bed 22 at a plane above the plane of the plate 24. Thus, that portion of the particulate material in the bed 22 extending immediately above the nozzles 36 is fluidized while the portion extending between the latter ends of the upper surface of the plate 24 remains dormant, or stagnant.
The light-off burner 62Ts then fired to heat the material in the bed until the temperature of the material reaches a predetermined level, and additional particulate fuel and adsorbent material is discharged onto the upper surface of the bed 22 through the pipes 40 and 42 where it is deflected into the bed in the manner discussed above. Auxiliary air from the pipes 54 and 56 is discharged into the interior of the deflectors 50 and 52 and is directed into the bed 22 in a general horizontal direction.
After the bed 22 has reached a predetermined elevated temperature in accordance with the foregoing, the light-off burner 62 is turned off while the pipes 40 and 42 continue to distribute particulate material to the upper surface of the bed in accordance with predetermined feed rates to replenish the material lost in the combustion process and discharged from the drain pipe 34. As a result of the foregoing, an improved mixing, distribution and diffusion of the particulate material is achieved due to the momentum imparted to the bed material and the improved circulation of the latter within the bed. Also, the dormant layer of particulate material extending between the upper surface of the plate 24 and the nozzles 36 acts as an insulator for the plate.
Fluid, such as water, to be heated is passed into the headers 64 and 66 where it passes simultaneously, or in sequence, through the tubes 18 forming the walls 12, 14, 16 and 17 to add heat from the fluidized bed to the fluid before it is passed to external apparatus for further processing.
It is understood that variations in the above arrangements can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the nozzles can take a different configuration from that discussed above, and the number and specific locations of the nozzles and the feed pipes as well as their specific orientation can be varied as long as the above objectives and results are achieved. Also a bank, or series, of heat exchange tubes can be provided in the enclosure 10 for circulating water in a heat exchange relationship with the bed 22 in a conventional manner.

Claims

1. A fluidized bed heat exchanger comprising a perforated plate (24) fdr supporting a bed (22) of particulate material; means (26, 28, 30) for introducing air through perforations in the plate (24) to fluidize particulate material thereon; and means for feeding additional particulate material to a said bed, characterized in that the feeding means comprises at least one feeder pipe (40, 42) having a substantial vertical portion which extends into the bed (22) from a point above the bed (22) and is adapted to deliver a mixture of air and particulate material at a region within a said bed (22), at least one deflector (50, 52) traversing the path of incoming material from said at least one feeder pipe (40, 42) and an auxiliary source (54, 56) of air coupled to said at least one deflector (50, 52) and cooperating therewith to discharge such auxiliary air substantially horizontally within a said bed, the deflector being thus adapted to direct said mixture in at least one direction having a horizontal component to induce diffusion and circulation of bed material.

2. An heat exchanger according to Claim 1 characterized in that the auxiliary source of air comprises at least one pipe (54, 56) extending upwardly to said region.

3. An heat exchanger according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 characterized in that said at least one deflector (50, 52) is substantially convex and is formed with a plurality of horizontally extending openings for the passage of said auxiliary air.

4. An heat exchanger according to any preceding Claim characterized in that said at least one deflector (50,52) is mounted on the plate (24) over an enlarged opening therein, the auxiliary source (54, 56) being coupled to such opening.

5. An heat exchanger according to any preceding Claim characterized in that means (58, 60) are provided for controlling the flow of said auxiliary air to said at least one deflector (50, 52).